The Sky for the Month

The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2006

Computed for The Briars, Mt Martha. Times are local (Melbourne).

7ThuSaturn is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (4:44am)
10SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 1° apart. (10:58pm)
14ThuGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A 35% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
22FriSummer solstice.
22FriUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 3% Moon leaves the sky dark.

Date	Sunrise	Sunset	Day length	Astro. dark begins	ends
Fri 1	5:51am	8:27pm	14h 37m	10:20pm	3:59am
Sun 10	5:50am	8:35pm	14h 46m	10:31pm	3:55am
Wed 20	5:52am	8:42pm	14h 50m	10:39pm	3:55am
Sun 31	5:59am	8:46pm	14h 47m	10:42pm	4:03am

Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.

Perigee 2 Dec (366,100 km) · Apogee 14 Dec (404,800 km) · Perigee 28 Dec (369,900 km)

Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.

Planet	In	Mag	Rise	Transit	Set	Best
Mercury	Oph	−0.7	5:03am	12:20pm	7:38pm	Hidden
Venus	Sgr	−3.7	6:40am	2:07pm	9:34pm	Hidden
Mars	Sco	1.5	4:48am	12:03pm	7:19pm	Hidden
Jupiter	Sco	−1.6	4:46am	11:57am	7:07pm	Hidden
Saturn	Leo	0.2	12:21am	5:37am	10:53am	Morning
Uranus	Aqr	5.9	12:08pm	6:36pm	1:07am	Evening
Neptune	Cap	7.9	10:12am	5:05pm	12:03am	Evening

Geminids — peaks 14 December, radiant in Gemini (up to 150/hr). The richest shower of the year; the radiant reaches a useful altitude after local midnight, so it rewards southern observers well. A 35% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
Ursids — peaks 22 December, radiant in Ursa Minor (up to 10/hr). A circumpolar northern shower whose radiant never rises from Victoria. A thin 3% Moon leaves the sky dark.

Evening sky Morning sky Up much of the night Lost in the Sun’s glare

Open the full interactive orrery ↗ — fast-forward, pick any date, toggle the Moon and more.

Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 15 July 2026.